Her words pierced his soul. Giordwahn let her pass. Maihla stepped out of the altar in her mortal form and reached for Giordwahn’s hand. The former heiress of the Pwuluk tribe finally joined her beloved warlock.

The panic in the emergency room simmered down like an expertly cooked dish on the fire.

“I will leave you soon,” Eddie said while looking intently at his wife.

“How do you know that?” Lourdes asked while hanging on to each of Eddie’s words.

“I just know, but I am ready now,” Eddie answered her question. These were the words that Lourdes played again and again inside her head while the doctor was telling her that they did all they could for her beloved husband. He lay on the cold stretcher covered with a white blanket.

She unveiled the blanket and reveled her husband’s tranquil pale face. There was a faint smile on his paper white lips.

“Thank you for the ten happy years you spent with me,” Lourdes whispered in Eddie’s right ear then gently kissed his cold forehead.

An ocean of leaves restlessly moved in unison at the approaching trolls armed with axes and torches. These mischievous creatures were never welcome in the forest of Bahn.

Gladin, the dwarf lord that lead the trolls, commanded to burn everything to the ground. But the forest was not defenseless. In an unforeseen signal, it rained spikes that bore through their thick skins and the fruits spitted saps that extinguished their torches.

The surviving trolls ran amok to the surrounding plains.Gladin looked back and saw the silhouette of Charla, the mistress of the forest. Her diamond eyes blinked at him once then he instantly expired. The roots pulled his remains and those trolls that fell on the ground into the earth.

Charla retired in her cocoon, satisfied with the result of the battle. She laid dormant until the next assault.

In the land of Tah, a mighty warrior, Zoran won battles for his powerful, yet greedy ruler, Avarus. His only desire was for the love of his master’s daughter, Maan. Since Maan was Avarus’ most beautiful possession, he vanished her to the night sky and became the moon.

For years the warrior and his beloved were separated. But because the warrior was known throughout the land for his kindness and righteousness, a hermit came to him one day and said,

“Wait for the starless night sky with fertile clouds, your beautiful Maan shall walk upon the land with you for seven days and nights.”

The warrior climbed Mt. Luere and waited for such night. The moon shone through the clouds then Zoran passionately called out for his Maan. When the clouds engulfed the moon, Maan appeared silently at Zoran’s side.

Olin and Genu reached the land of the prophets. It was a desolate place that sucks the life out of mortal men. The brothers had to be in their beast forms.

An old man appeared in front of them wielding a staff. “We have been expecting you,” he said.

The ground shook and caved in beneath them. Olin flapped his Pegasus wings and flew, while Genu shifted into a king cobra and clung to Olin. The old man pointed his staff and threw lightning bolts at them. Olin maneuvered just in time for Genu to jump off towards the man. He bounded his body then hissed, “Take us to the blue hyacinth.”

The man reluctantly replied to Genu, “The blue hyacinth can never be taken, only won,” he said.

Justin woke up longing. He recalled how his nights were full of passion for his wife. The memories felt like dreams of another lifetime away. Now, her side of the bed lay empty.

He got up and went to shower. There were traces of his wife’s presence there. Her robe, toothbrush, and perfumes were in place.

The phone rang, with his husky voice he replied, “Hello?”

“It’s me, I’m sorry.”

His memories of that night almost drowned his consciousness. He found his wife in the arms of another man, but his craving for her touch faded the anger from his heart and when he saw his empty bed, he felt the need to be with her again.